Glen Collection of printed music > Printed music > Scots musical museum > Volume 5
(149) Page 389
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CCCCXXXVin.-*-THE SOUTEllS O' SELKIRK. 389
son, minister of Selkirk, indeed mentions, in his statistical
account of the parish, that the song.
Up w'l the Souters cf Selkirk,
And down with the Earl of Home —
was not composed on the battle of Flodden, as there was no
Earl of Hume at that time, nor till long after ; but that it
*' arose from a bet betwixt the Philiphaugh and Hume fami-
lies; the Souters (or shoemakers) of Selkirk against the men
of Hume, at a match of football, in which the Souters of Sel-
kirk completely gained, and afterwards perpetuated their vic-
tory in that song." The late Andrev^ Plummer, Esq. of
Middlestead, who was sheriff-depute of the county of Selkirk,
and a faithful and learned antiquarian, in a letter to the late
Mr David Herd, dated 13th January 1793, says, " I was
five years at school at Selkirk, have hved all my days within
two miles of that town, and never once heard a tradition of
this imaginary contest till I saw it in print."
" Although the words are not very ancient, there is every
reason to believe that they allude to the battle of Flodden,
and to the different behaviour of the souters and Lord Hume
upon that occasion. At election dinners, &c. when the Sel-
kirk folks begin to get Jbu (merry), they always call for mu-
sic, and for that tune in particular. At such times I never
heard a Souter hint at the football, but many times speak of
the battle of Flodden." — See Scott's Border Minstrelsi/^ vol.
iii. p. 118.
Neither Mr Robertson nor Mr Plummer, however, appear
to have heard or seen any more than three or four lines of
the song, otherwise not a doubt could have been entertained
on the subject. The words, as well as the genuine simple
air of the ballad, both of which have been shockingly muti-
lated and corrupted, are here restored, as the Editor heard
them sung and played, by the border musicians, in his younger
days. The original melody is a bag- pipe tune, of eight dia-
tonic intervals in its compass ; a bass part has therefore been
added, in imitation of the drone of that instrument.
son, minister of Selkirk, indeed mentions, in his statistical
account of the parish, that the song.
Up w'l the Souters cf Selkirk,
And down with the Earl of Home —
was not composed on the battle of Flodden, as there was no
Earl of Hume at that time, nor till long after ; but that it
*' arose from a bet betwixt the Philiphaugh and Hume fami-
lies; the Souters (or shoemakers) of Selkirk against the men
of Hume, at a match of football, in which the Souters of Sel-
kirk completely gained, and afterwards perpetuated their vic-
tory in that song." The late Andrev^ Plummer, Esq. of
Middlestead, who was sheriff-depute of the county of Selkirk,
and a faithful and learned antiquarian, in a letter to the late
Mr David Herd, dated 13th January 1793, says, " I was
five years at school at Selkirk, have hved all my days within
two miles of that town, and never once heard a tradition of
this imaginary contest till I saw it in print."
" Although the words are not very ancient, there is every
reason to believe that they allude to the battle of Flodden,
and to the different behaviour of the souters and Lord Hume
upon that occasion. At election dinners, &c. when the Sel-
kirk folks begin to get Jbu (merry), they always call for mu-
sic, and for that tune in particular. At such times I never
heard a Souter hint at the football, but many times speak of
the battle of Flodden." — See Scott's Border Minstrelsi/^ vol.
iii. p. 118.
Neither Mr Robertson nor Mr Plummer, however, appear
to have heard or seen any more than three or four lines of
the song, otherwise not a doubt could have been entertained
on the subject. The words, as well as the genuine simple
air of the ballad, both of which have been shockingly muti-
lated and corrupted, are here restored, as the Editor heard
them sung and played, by the border musicians, in his younger
days. The original melody is a bag- pipe tune, of eight dia-
tonic intervals in its compass ; a bass part has therefore been
added, in imitation of the drone of that instrument.
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| Special collections of printed music > Glen Collection of printed music > Printed music > Scots musical museum > Volume 5 > (149) Page 389 |
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| Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/87804398 |
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| Description | "Humbly dedicated to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland". |
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| Shelfmark | Glen.201d |
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| Attribution and copyright: |
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| Description | By James Johnson. 6 volumes. Edinburgh : Printed & sold by Johnson & Co., 1787-1803. Burns contributed largely to the work, and Stephen Clarke prepared the arrangements of most of the airs. ["The volumes of the Musical museum, as originally published, were 'Humbly dedicated to the Catch Club, instituted at Edinburgh June 1771.' On the completion of the sixth and last volume, in 1803, Johnson substituted a new set of title-pages, dedicating the work 'To the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.'"--Laing's pref., to 1839 ed., v. 1, p. ii, foot-note]. |
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| Shelfmark | Glen.201-201e |
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| Description | Scottish songs and music of the 18th and early 19th centuries, including music for the Highland bagpipe. These are selected items from the collection of John Glen (1833 to 1904). Also includes a few manuscripts, some treatises, and other books on the subject. |
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| Description | The Glen Collection and the Inglis Collection represent mainly 18th and 19th century Scottish music, including Scottish songs. The collections of Berlioz and Verdi collected by bibliographer Cecil Hopkinson contain contemporary and later editions of the works of the two composers Berlioz and Verdi. |
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